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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] SEOUL, November 10, 2025 — South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has imposed a KRW 179.47 billion (USD 130 million) fine on Hana Bank for violating investor protection laws while selling high-risk private funds without properly disclosing investment risks.
According to the FSS, between September 2017 and August 2019, Hana Bank sold nine private funds worth a total of KRW 377.9 billion to 963 investors across 1,241 transactions, while distorting or omitting key risk information.
One product, a fund investing in Italian healthcare receivables, was marketed as focusing only on low-risk “In-Budget” bonds issued under government spending caps, but in reality also included higher-risk “Extra-Budget” bonds.
Another fund tied to UK property loans was described as having secured government construction permits, though no such approval had been granted.
A third fund investing in overseas real estate project financing (PF) was promoted with assurances of “115% principal and interest repayment after two years,” despite the FSS finding that Hana Bank was aware the local developer faced liquidity issues.
The regulator also found cases where bank employees falsified clients’ investment profiles, entered incorrect risk tolerance data, or skipped investor signatures on disclosure forms to facilitate sales.
The FSS stated the penalty was aimed at reinforcing market discipline and ensuring “banks act as fiduciaries, not product distributors.”
Hana Bank has not yet issued an official statement on whether it plans to appeal the fine.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
